ROCKFORD — At 5 feet, 4 inches, Jim Barbagallo was not a big man, but his oversized personality filled every room that he walked into.

“He was always running around like he was 17 years old,” said Jim Flodin, the former director of Patriot’s Gateway Center. “I never met anyone else with nearly as much energy.”

Barbagallo was a dedicated businessman with more than 40 years at Joseph Behr & Sons. He also sold real estate for more than 30 years, built a successful pottery business, and still found time to raise a family and serve on about a dozen nonprofit boards.

He died July 11 after a very short illness. He was 65.

Jon Krause, Barbagallo’s boss at Gambino Realtors, said for years he advised novice salesmen to go to one of Barbagallo’s open houses just to see how he interacted with people.

“No one was more successful at an open house, not so much just selling that particular house, but people just gravitated to him. A lot of his clients were people he met at those open houses who would call him three or four weeks later because they wanted to work with him,” Krause said. “He lived every day to the fullest and found joy in everything. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. I’ve spent most of the week just waiting for him to walk through the door.”

Barbagallo graduated from Guilford High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Parsons College in Iowa. He returned to Rockford to begin climbing the ladder at Behr, the company based on Seminary Street that buys, processes, and sells scrap iron, steel and nonferrous metals such as aluminum and copper.

“He started working at Behr as a kid, mowing grass,” said his wife, Karen, who he married in 1991. The two met and dated at Guilford, eventually married others and then reconnected when those relationships didn’t work out. “Then they had him doing stuff in trucking, out in the yards as they say. Ever since 1988, he was the top sales executive.”

In the mid-1980s, Tom Wartowski talked Barbagallo into trying his hand at real estate, working at Wartowski’s company.

“He could sell anyone anything,” Wartowski said. “In 1979, when we had the Iran hostage crisis, Jim came up with an idea to make (Ayatollah) Khomeini dart boards. My wife did the art work. Jim was in charge of production, and I did the marketing. We made $2,000 right before Christmas. Another time, he wanted to promote our real estate office by getting in the old Rock River Raft Race. He got his hands on these dunnage bags (inflatable bags used to balance and stabilize cargo), blew ‘em up and we rode those on the Rock River like pregnant hippos. He did things on a moment’s notice.”

When Wartowski left real estate in 1993 to go to law school, Barbagallo and Karen joined Gambino. There Barbagallo became increasingly involved with the Rockford Association of Realtors. He was in the middle of his second term as president of the association when he died.

Former association CEO Terrie Hall said one of her favorite memories of Barbagallo was taking a trip to Springfield with fellow real estate agent, Ginger Sreenan, for association business during his first term.

“Jim had the back seat covered with papers. He was making constant phone calls as we proceeded. First to a client regarding an offer to purchase, then a title company to check on their progress, then a lender, then to Behr for the price of steel, to a Behr customer to quote aluminum prices, (to his son) Shawn to see if he turned on the kiln, an art fair director to confirm his place, etc.,” Hall said. “As we got to Springfield, Ginger and I decided we should get T-shirts that read: ‘We survived Jim Barbagello’s term.’ He finished his phone call and said, ‘I know someone who can give you the best price and fastest delivery for your T-shirts.’”

Barbagallo took up pottery in his early days at Behr. Eventually, his wife and son got involved as well.

“With Jim and Shawn doing it, it was either get involved or get left out,” Karen said. Barbagallo also has a daughter, Amy, and two stepsons, Steve Coates and Jay Patch.

With everything else on the schedule, the Barbagallos found time to attend about a dozen art shows a year, the farthest being in Door County, Wisconsin.

His love for pottery led to his involvement with the Rockford Area Arts Council. He joined the board in 2009.

“Jim could connect you to anyone. He was always finding ways to wiggle the arts council into other events,” arts council Executive Director Anne O’Keefe said. “He served on so many boards and he was a passionate advocate for all of them. He was like the Pied Piper. People followed him.”

Flodin, whose career with nonprofit community centers spanned 52 years, agreed. Barbagallo joined the Patriot’s Gateway board about nine years ago.

“He always bellied up to the table. He didn’t just join so you could use his name,” Flodin said. “Another great thing is that when you got Jim you got Karen as well. I said it was a ‘2-for-1’ deal. They got involved. I’ve never seen anyone better when it came to fundraising campaigns.”

Wartowski, who spent a couple decades with the Winnebago County State’s Attorney office, said Barbagallo was such a ball of fire it was shocking to see him about a month ago.

“We went to see a property I was interested in for investment reasons, and Jim just wasn’t his normal self,” Wartowski said.

Barbagallo told him he was seeing doctors to see what was wrong.

The next day he collapsed at home, and doctors discovered a brain tumor. They operated the next day, Barbagallo seemed to be recovering when he slipped into a coma from which he never recovered.